Sanitary toilet for railway cars



Sept. 25, 1956 Filed May 25, 1953 F. B. RUTHERFORD SANITARY TOILET FOR RAILWAY CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR (9 75i 45.. WEZMM F. B. RUTHERFORD SANITARY TOILET FOR RAILWAY CARS Sept. 25, 1956 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1953 I N VEN TOR. $520515 fzzzfm/mai United States Patent SANITARY TGILET FOR RAILWAY CARS Frost B. Rutherford, Chicago, IlL, assignor to Vapor Heating Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application May 25, 1953, Serial No. 357,291

8 Claims. (Cl. 4-8) The present invention relates to water closets for railway passenger cars and more particularly to water closets of the type comprising an outer enameled iron bowl and a vitreous china inner bowl or hopper.

Water closets of the above general class are fairly well standardized for railway cars and the various designs vary but slightly from one another. The differences usually encountered reside mainly in the operating mechanism for flushing the closet.

In providing flushing facilities for water closets of the type briefly outlined above, considerable attention has been paid to the efiicient flushing of the inner hopper. Usually an arcuate flush pipe is positioned around, or partially around, the upper opening of the hopper just within the rim thereof and is concealed beneath a depending marginal flange which, in addition to concealing the flush pipe, also provides an inverted swirl channel for the water to distribute the same over the upper peripheral regions of the hopper for uniform downward flow over the inner generally conical face thereof toward the discharge opening. The flushing valve is usually disposed at the rear of the outer bowl above the stand portion thereof in a semi-concealed position and is operable under the control of a foot lever pivotally attached to the base of the outer bowl or to the supporting surface on one side of the outer bowl and operatively connected through a linkage mechanism to the valve. Auxiliary linkage mechanism connected to the foot pedal operates a rock shaft which projects into the space existing between the outer bowl and inner hopper and the rock shaft, in turn, operates the internal mechanism which controls the operaon of the dump pan.

inasmuch as, in such dual bowl constructions, the inner hopper is suspended within the outer bowl with the upper rim of the hopper supported from the upper rim of the outer bowl and with the walls of the hopper spaced rem the inner walls of the outer bowl, an inverted cone shaped pocket exists between the bowl :and hopper which is not serviced 'by the flushing water and which furthermore is not readily accessible for cleaning purposes. To aggravate the situation, a portion of the operating mechanism for the dump pan or pans is disposed within this space and, as a consequence, this mechanism is subject to fouling by the collection of paper and other objects thrown into the hopper. The sludge and foreign matter, by reason of the drafts and the surging and shaking movements of the oar, enter into the space between the inner hopper and outer bowl, thereby creating a foul, unsanitary condition.

ln order to alleviate the above noted limitations, it has been necessary to resort to periodic cleaning of the internal space existing between the bowl and hopper by the removal of the inner hopper or by the use of special equipment for directing steam or a detergent into the space with considerable force. Such operations are time-consuming and obnoxious and furhermore, because of the concealed condition of the internal operating mechanism for the dump pan or pans, it is impossible to accurately direct a steam jet or detergent nozzle toward such areas which may require prolonged treatment to dislodge collected refuse.

The present invention is directed toward an auxiliary flushing mechanism, operable under the control of the same flushing valve and operating instrumentalities therefor which control the flow of flushing water to the inner hopper, such mechanism serving to effectively flush the internal space existing between the outer bowl and inner hopper as well as to flush such portion of the dump pan linkage mechanism as may be disposed within this space or immediately below the space.

Accordingly, it is among the principal objects of the invention to provide such an auxiliary flushing mechanism in which the flush pipe fittings therefore are so constructed that a series of jets of flushing water will be directed in an eliicient manner against the outer surface of the inner hopper and against the inner surface of the outer bowl so as to eifectively loosen and flush away any deposits of sludge, scum or other refuse that may have lodged on these surfaces.

A further object is to provide an auxiliary flushing mechanism of this character wherein certain of the jets of water employed for flushing purposes are in the form of continuously flowing fiat ribbon jets of the liquid, the direction and extent of which is such that the jets will strike both the inner and the outer bowls at angles which are considered to be most effective for removal of deposited sludge. By such an arrangement a single jet is caused to perform services that ordinarlily would require two separate jets and thus not only may greater flushing force be attained in the individual jets, but conservation of water is eifected at each individual flushing operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a flush pipe system for dual bowl closets which incorponates special jets for reaching the more remote and inaccessible recesses within the space existing between the two bowls.

Yet another object, in a flushing system of this type, is to provide a means for directing flushing water against and over the internal linkage mechanism and hinges associated with the dump pan during the time that the linkage mechanism is in actual operation so that this mocha n-ism is exposed to the flushing action of the jets while the ravious parts thereof are in motion to thus expose large areas thereof to the direct forces of the jets.

A still further object is to provide an auxiliary flushing system for the internal space existing between the two bowls of a dual bowl closet which is operable simultaneously with the conventional flushing system for the inner hopper and which has facilities for connecting the same to a steam line or a source of detergent or other external source of flushing liquid under pressure, for extraor inary flushing operations when desired and which, during such special flushing openations, will automatically become disconnected from the regular flushing source, i. e. the flushing valve and upper hopper flush pipe so that there will be no egress of the fiuid from the latter.

The provision of an auxiliary flushing system including a flush pipe arrangement which may, without structural alterations, be adapted for use with closet bowls and hoppers of varying size and shape, one which is possessed of a minimum number of moving parts and which consequently is unlikely to get out of order; one which is rugged and durable; one which may be designed as a component part of new installations or which may be easily applied to existing closet installations; and one which otherwise is well adapted to perform the services required of it, are further desirable features that have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

The invention is illustrated in one preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a dual bowl, single pan water closet installation constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the installation shown in Fig. 1. In this view a portion of the outer bowl and of the inner hopper have *beenbroken away to more clearly reveal the nature'of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the installation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is atop plan view of a flushing pipe assembly employed in connection with the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in Fig. 5.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, a railway car closet of the dual bowl, single pan type has been illustrated and involves in its general organization an outer bowl 10 having a base portion 11, a relatively narrow stand portion 12 and an upper outwardly fiared bowl portion 13 provided with a rim 14. The usual outlet flange 15 depends from the base 11 and is adapted to extend through an opening 16 provided in the car floor 17.

Suspended from the rim 14 and generally centered within the tubular configuration of the outer bowl 10 is an inner hopper 20 having a flat extended rim portion 21 adapted to rest upon therirn 14 of the outer bowl 10 and providing a central opening 22 from which there depends the inwardly sloping hopper wall 23 which terminates at its lower end in a discharge opening or outlet 24. A gasket 19 effects a seal between the outer bowl 10 and hopper 20. A dump pan 25 normally closes the lower end of the hopper 23 and its movements are controlled in a manner and by mechanism that will subsequently be described.

The rim portion 21 of the hopper 20 is formed with an overhanging flange or apron 26 (Fig. 2) beneath which there is concealed the usual spray head or flush pipe assembly 27 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in section in Fig. 2. The flush pipe assembly is of conventional construction and includes the usual perforated curved flush pipe proper 28 and tangentially directed nozzle 29.

The dump pan 25 is fixedly mounted on a transverse shaft 30 extending through and suitably journalled in the side walls of the stand portion 12. An arm 31 is secured to the shaft 30 at the left side of the stand portion as seen in Fig. 4 and is provided with a pin 32 extending into a slot 33'provided in the lower part of a link 34. The opposite end of the shaft is squared as at 35 and has mounted thereon an arm 36, the free end of which is pivotally secured to one end of a link 37. The other end of the link 37 has secured thereto a block 38 to which is fixed the lower end of a rod 39. The upper end of the rod 39 is slidable in a bracket suitably secured to a stationary part of the closet, preferably the supporting bracket 46 of a flushing valve mechanism designated in its entirety at 47. A spring 48 surrounds the rod 39 and bears at its lower end against the block 38 and at its upper end against the bracket 45 and serves to normally urge the dump pan 25 to its closedposition.

The upper end of the link 34 is pivotally connected to a stud 50 carried in a block 51 mounted on the upper end of a link 52 the lower end of which is pivoted to the rear end of a foot lever 53 which in turn is pivoted to a bracket 54 suitably anchored to the car floor 17. The upper end of the link 52 is also pivotally connected through the stud 50 to one end of a short link 55 and the other end of the link 55 is connected toa rocker cam 56 mounted on a horizontalshaft 57. The free end of the rocker cam 56 engages one end of a bell crank lever 58 pivoted on a vertical shaft 59 and the other end of the bell crank lever is confined between a pair of spaced collars 60 formed on the operating plunger 62 of the flushing valve proper 63, the flushing valve assembly 47 being suitably mounted on the bracket 46.

The flushing valve 63 is purely conventional in its design and construction and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated with the same. The valve includes the usual outer casing or body 64 having an inlet 65 for water and a bell housing portion 66 providing a valve out-let chamber having an outlet connection 67 communicating with the flush pipe 27. The usual drip pan 63 underlies the valve body 64 and communicates with the interior of the stand portion 12.

From the above description it will be seen that upon depression of the foot lever 53, the link 52 will be moved upwardly as viewed in Fig. 4 and motion will be transmitted from the link 52, through the short link 55 and rocker cam 56 to the bell crank lever 58 which will be moved in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. Such movement of the lever 58 will cause the operating plunger 62 of the flushing valve 63 to be moved to the right as seen in Fig. 4, thus opening the valve and supplying water to the outlet chamber and outlet connection 67 from whence it is conducted to the spray head or flush pipe assembly 27. Upward movement of the link 52 also causes the slotted link 34 to be moved upwardly and, when the lower end of the slot 33 provided in the link 34 engages the pin 32, the arm 36 is lifted upwardly to cause turning movement of the shaft 30 in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2, thus swinging the dump pan 25 downwardly to spill the contents thereof.

During such movements of the linkage system as have just been described, the spring 4-8 is placed under compression and, thereafter, upon release of the foot pedal 53, the spring will restore the parts to their initial or normal positions to close the flushing valve and restore the dump pan to its closed position over the discharge opening 24. It is to be noted that the pin 32 will restore the dump pan 25 to closed position a short time before the valve 46 becomes fully closed. This allows sufficient water to issue from the flush pipe 28 to collect in the pan 25 to assure a good liquid seal.

The ttlushing mechanism of the present invention appears in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive and is illustrated in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. This mechanism includes an auxiliary flush pipe assembly designated in its entirety at which has been constructed so as to efliciently service the interior space existing between the outer bowl 10 and the inner hopper 20. The rear portion of the assembly is supported 'by a'pair of spaced brackets 82, each of which is in the form of a clamping device including an arm 83 having a detachable connecting rod type of block and cap assembly 84 at one end thereof adapted to movably enclose the dump pan shaft 30 adjacent an end thereof and held in its assembled relation by means of screw 85 (Fig. 6). The other end of each bracket 82 is formed with a socket 86 therein which receives an end of a perforated spray tube 87 and the tube may be permanently sealed in the socket by the application of solder as indicated at 88.

Each socket 87 communicates through a small bore 90 with a male elbow 91 which is coupled to a second elbow 92 which in turn is coupled to one end of a curved spray pipe or tube section 93 which extends forwardly within the "space existing between the lower bowl 10 and the hopper 20. The two tubes 93 are bowed outwardly as shown in 'Figs. 1 and 5 partially encompass the medial region of the hopper walls 23. At their forward ends, the tubes 93 communicate with the medial leg of a pair T-fittings 94 which are connected by an upwardly projecting generally U-shaped spray pipe or tube 95 located at the forward region of the hopper 10 slightly above the upper end "of the stand portion 12. The T-fittings 94 are also connected to a plug connection designated in its entirety at 96 which extends through an opening 97 in the 'fro'nt'of'the lowerbowl wall and having an external portion 98 provided with a removable threaded plug 9 enabling the connection 96 to be attached to the end of a steam or detergent supply line for flushing purposes when desired. The plug connection is sealed in the opening 97 by means of suitable rubber or other resilient sealing washers 100. A curved lead-in pipe 101 extends into the space between the bowl 10 and hopper 20 and is connected at its rear end through an elow fitting 192 to a check valve 103 which in turn is connected to the outlet side of the flush valve 63. The other end of the lead-in pipe 101 is connected to the plug connection 96. The various elements of the flush pipe assembly 8h thus far described may be suitably joined together and sealed by the application of solder to the joints for a more permanent installation.

From the above description it will be seen that the fiush pipe assembly 80 is anchored in position within the lower bowl 10 by means of the plug connection 96 just described at its forward region and by the brackets 82 at its rear region. Furthermore, because of the fact that the various parts of the assembly are interconnected by threaded unions and also are capable of bending under the application of stress, the assembly may be adjusted to accommodate water closet installations having bowl or hopper shapes which vary somewhat in their design or shape.

The tube sections 93 are provided with a series of spray or jet openings 105 in the upper sides thereof and these openings are preferably in the form of narrow slots which extend at different angles to the curvilinear axes of the tube sections. The slots 105 are designed to establish a fan-shaped spray or jet of water when the flushing valve 63 is opened for flushing purposes. The disposition of the slots 105 is such that each slot creates an extremely forceful fan-shaped jet of water which is sufficiently wide and diverging as to service both the adjacent outer surface of the hopper 20 and the adjacent inner surface of the bowl 10. The fan-shaped jets are directed toward the adjacent surfaces of the bowl and hopper at acute angles With respect thereto with the jets approaching these surfaces almost tangentially. It has been found that by the use of jets of this character and so directed, an extremely effective sludge or scum removing action is attained wherein any substantial deposits of the material may be said to be pried from the surface of the bowls and thus loosened for flushing purposes.

The upwardly extending U-shaped flush pipe section is provided with a forwardly extending bight portion 1% (Fig. 2) and the upper side of the bight portion is likewise formed with a series of spaced inclined slots m7 similar to the slots 105 and capable of producing similar fan-shaped jets which strike the adjacent Walls of the bowl 10 and hopper 20 almost tangentially as previously described. These latter jets reach the less accessible region or pocket provided in the upper reaches of the chamber existing between the bowl and hopper.

It will be understood that because the flush pipe assembly 27 for the inner hopper 20 :and the flush pipe assembly 80 for the space existing between the bowl 1t and hopper 24 are both connected to the outlet side of the flushing valve 63, depression of the foot lever 53 will efiect simultaneous flushing operations by both of these assemblies. At periodic intervals, say at the end of each run, or at selected time intervals which may be considered appropriate, a steam line or detergent supply line may be connected to the connection 96 after the plug 99 has been removed. During such flushing operations, the check valve 103 will prevent the steam or detergent from entering the bell housing portion 66 or outlet side of the flushing valve 63 and in this manner it is prevented from escaping through the flush pipe assembly 27 of the inner hopper 20 so that the force of the flushing fluid is confined to the jets 105 and 106 for more efiicient flushing operations.

I claim:

1. In combination with an outer bowl and inner hopper of a railway car water closet constructed and assembled to provide an internal annular space between them, manually operable flushing valve mechanism for directing flushing water into said inner hopper to cleanse the same, and means for cleansing the space between the said hopper and the outer bowl comprising a flush pipe disposed in said annular space and at least in part encircling said hopper between the wall thereof and the wall of said outer bowl and provided with a series of discharge ports positioned to direct jets of flushing liquid at acute angles against both walls of said annular space, and a conduit connecting said flush pipe with said flush valve, whereby flushing water is directed to said internal annular space simultaneously with the flushing of the inner hopper.

2. In a railway car water closet, the combination with an outer bowl, an inner hopper having a wall spaced from the wall of said bowl and a flush valve for directing water into the said hopper to cleanse the same, of a flush pipe disposed between said bowl and hopper and encircling the latter in a generally horizontal direction and spaced from both the hopper and the bowl, there being a series of spaced slots formed at various angles with respect to each other in the upper surface of said flush pipe, each of said slots intersecting the bore of said pipe and being of a depth sufiicient to produce a fanlike jet of flushing water of 'a width sufficient to impinge against the adjacent surfaces of the bowl and hopper, and a conduit connecting said flush pipe to the flush valve, whereby flushing water is delivered to said flush pipe simultaneously with the delivery of flushing water into said hopper.

3. A railway car water closet comprising, in combination, an outer bowl, an inner hopper extending downwardly into the outer bowl with its wall spaced from the outer bowl, a flushing mechanism including a valve for directing flushing water into said hopper to cleanse the same, the said hopper being provided with a bottom discharge opening, a rock shaft extending across said space between said outer bowl and the inner hopper at substantially the level of and at one side of said discharge opening, a dump pan carried by said shaft and movable upon turning of the latter to open and close the discharge opening of said hopper, operating instrumentalities for the shaft, a pair of vertically extending brackets having their lower ends loosely encircling said shaft, a perforated spray tube arranged between and secured to the upper ends of said brackets, there being a series of spray openings in said spray tube for directing jets of water against the walls of said bowl and hopper and against said shaft, a flush pipe partially encircling said hopper above the level of the discharge opening thereof and having connections with the opposite ends of said spray tube, there being a series of jet-producing openings in said flush pipe at spaced points therealong, each capable of producing a jet of flushing water directed against both the bowl and the hopper walls, and a conduit connecting said flush pipe with said flush valve, whereby flushing water is directed to the said flush pipe simultaneously with the flushing of the inner hopper.

4. A railway car water closet as set forth in claim 3 characterized in that the jet producing openings are formed in the upper surfaces of said flush pipe so as to direct the jets of water upwardly into engagement with said walls.

5. A railway car water closet as defined in claim 3 characterized in that the flush pipe includes an upwardly projecting extension at its forward end for directing flushing water against the walls of said bowl and hopper in the vicinity of upwardly and forwardly extending portions of said bowl and hopper.

6. In combination with an outer bowl and inner hopper of a railway car water closet constructed and assembled to provide an internal annular space between them, manually operable flush valve mechanism for directing flushing water into said inner hopper to cleanse the same, and means for cleansing the space between said hopper and the outer bowl comprising a flush pipe disposed in said annular space and at least in part encircling said hopper between the wall thereof and the wall of said outer bowl and provided with a series of discharge ports positioned to direct jets of flushing liquid at acute angles against both walls pf said annular space, a hollow plug connection provided with two ports and extending through the wall of said outer bowl and communicating with said flush pipe, a conduit leading from one port of said plug to said flush valve, whereby flushing water is delivered to the flush pipe simultaneously with the flushing of the inner hopper, a closure for the other port of said plug adapted on removal to permit the delivery of cleansing iiuid to the flush pipe independently of said flush valve.

7. A combination structure as defined in claim 6 characterized in that a check valve is disposed between the said plug connection and said flush valve for preventing fiui-d introduced under pressure through said plug from entering the flush valve.

8. A railway car water closet comprising, in combination, an outer bowl, an inner hopper extending downwardly into the outer bowl with its wall spaced from the outer bowl, a flushing mechanism including a valve for directing flushing water into said hopper to cleanse the same, the said hopper being provided with a bottom discharge opening, a rock shaft extending across said space between said outer bowl and the inner hopper at substantially the level of and at one side of said discharge opening, a dump pan carried by said shaft and movable upon turning of the latter to open and close the discharge opening of said hopper, operating instrumentalities for the shaft, a pair of vertically extending brackets having their lower ends loosely encircling said shaft, aperforated spray tube arranged between and secured to the upper ends of n a) said brackets, there being a series of spray openings in said spray tube for directing jets of water against the walls of said bowl and hopper and against said shaft, 2. flush pipe partially encircling said hopper above the level of the discharge opening thereof, and having opposed ends fixed in said brackets and communicating with said spray tube, there being a series of jet-producing openings in the fiush pipe at spaced points therealong, each capable of producing a jet of flushing water directed against opposed walls of the bowl and said hopper, a hollow plug connection provided with two ports and extending through the wall of said bowl and communicating with said flush pipe, whereby the said plug and said brackets serve to support the flush pipe and spray tube as a unit in spaced relation to the outer bowl and inner hopper, a conduit leading from one port of said plug to said flush valve, whereby flushing water is delivered to the flush pipe simultaneously with the flushing of the inner hopper, a closure for the other port of said plug adapted on removal to permit the delivery of cleansing fluid to the flush pipe independently of said fiush valve, and a check valve interposed in said connector between said plug and said flush valve to prevent cleansing fluid introduced through said plug from entering the flush valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 14, 1921 Y 

